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5 Ways to Turn Your Health Desires Into Realities

Have you ever wondered why it is so hard to get started on a healthy routine? We get scared, or we get busy, or we get intimidated, or we just simply stay lazy. We talk ourselves out of doing the healthy thing over and over again, with surprising ease. We keep our deadline comfortably far in the future, as in “oh, I’ll start exercising after the summer.” Or, “I’ll start the diet next week when I’m not so stressed.” Have you ever noticed that there is always a new excuse ready? And always a new reason to put the healthy endeavor off? We’re pointing this out NOT to provoke feelings of shame, but really to show you how important it is to take action today. Now. The stress and the seasonal hiccups and tiredness and the busy schedule will always be there. John F. Kennedy once said, “There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long range risks of comfortable inaction.” No more comfortable inaction, friend. Since September happens to be National Self-Improvement Month, we’ve got the top 5 ways to turn your health desires into your reality.

Figure out the long and short of it. Determine your long-term goal, and then divide it up into bite-sized chunks of short-term goals. Sure, you may want to develop killer bicep muscles, or lose 30 pounds, and those are great goals. But given the amount of time these goals can take to meet, breaking them up into feasible mini-goals help keep you motivated.

Pair up. Finding a like-minded buddy to hit the studio with, or go for a jog with makes you accountable for your choices. You’ll feel WAY worse about letting down your friend than you would just deciding to stay home yourself. A little well-placed guilt can be a powerful thing.

Keep it fresh. At our studio, you’ve got access to a professional trainer who knows nearly EVERYTHING about working out and fitness. If you’re bored of the same weight and cardio routines, ask him or her to change it up a little (or a lot!). Maybe mix things up with some yoga-style poses and stretches one day, and then some plyometric exercises the next day. The options are endless. Have fun trying new things.

Be patient. Rome wasn’t built in a day, as the saying goes. Ditto for muscles, and extra ditto for a smaller waistline. Change will happen, but it will likely not be as fast as you’d like. Give yourself some grace, and know that you’re doing a great job.

Which brings us to our final suggestion: reward yourself. For four weeks of hard work, or for your first 10 pounds lost, we think you deserve a little reward. Whether it’s a new shirt that shows off JUST how far you’ve come, or a salon pedicure, make sure the reward is something that will inspire you to keep on going.

“Breaking old habits and forming new ones always takes time, but it is worth it in the end.” Perhaps Joyce Meyer wasn’t talking about fitness goals, but it sure applies. Six months from now, when you’re looking back to September of 2016, don’t you want to say, “That was the beginning, and look at me now.”?